


So Says I

by StuckyandStarWars



Series: Road Trip [2]
Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Bisexual Johnny Silverhand, F/M, Fluff, I use my V's name in this one, Johnny is a bit of a nerd, Part two of the road trip!, They run into V's family too, We briefly meet V's brother, he's read books before, they aren't in a relationship yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:14:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29337366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StuckyandStarWars/pseuds/StuckyandStarWars
Summary: (So Says I- By the Shins)They left Night City with absolutely no plan, and need to put one together. In the meantime, they're drifting through the desert and dealing with the problems right in front of them.Part two of my road trip collection, but it isn't necessary to read the first part first. Just might be helpful.
Relationships: Johnny Silverhand & V, Johnny Silverhand/V
Series: Road Trip [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2154906
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	So Says I

**Author's Note:**

> I love writing these little road trip things so much, they're very self-indulgent. Enjoy!

_ Time since leaving night city: two weeks and two days  _

_ Location: somewhere in the middle of the desert _

_ Relationship status: friends _

V woke up in the passenger seat. Slow, groggy, tired out of her fucking mind. Why was the car stopped? Why wasn’t Johnny in the driver's seat?

“Johnny?” She asked to the air, opening the door.

“Oh good, you know how to fix a car, right?” He was standing, hip out, in front of their beautiful Thorton.

“Fuck, are you serious?” She made her way around to where he was standing. 

“I wouldn’t be joking about this.”

“How much of that smoke is the car and how much is you?”

Johnny flicked his cigarette butt into the sand. “Mostly the car. But do you have any idea how to fix this?”

“Maybe, what’s the problem?”

“V, I am a cock-sucking, pussy-eating, war-deserting rockerboy who has only been in this decade for two months. You think I have any idea how to tell what’s wrong with a car?”

She scoffed and pushed him out of the way. “Go get the tools from under the passenger seat and something to drink. For me, not you.”

He came back with the toolbox and two almost cold beers. “Figured it out yet, Ms. Mechanic?”

“Worst name you’ve given me yet,” she popped the cap off on the side of the car. Thing was already banged to hell and back. “And yea. It’s probably a coolant leak, I’ve just gotta find where. Hopefully it’s external so we don’t have to-“

“Okay, you lost me. Too bad we don’t have a guitar, I could put on a real nice show. Just have to do some A Capella.”

“You could just turn on the radio.” She bent into the hood of the car and started searching for where the drip was.

“Not as fun!” He shouted from the other end.

The car dipped down a little, indicating that Johnny was climbing to his favorite spot to sit. When V peeked out from around the hood she saw that, sure enough, he had perched himself on the top of the Thorton and was kicking his feet like a child. She focused back on her job and tried her best to tune out the song he was singing. 

“Fuck,” she laid eyes on the leak. “Found it.”

“What’s ‘fuck’ about that? Can you fix it?”

“I can, yeah. I gotta wait for the engine to cool so I don’t burn myself and I’ve gotta see if there’s a spare hose tucked anywhere around here.”

“Give me an estimate on how long we’re going to be stuck out here.”

V glanced up at the sun, which was just starting to set. “An hour or two? Depending on whether I can find a hose or if I have to tape this one back together. If I have to tape it then we’ve gotta B-line for an actual mechanic.”

“An hour? Fuckin’ preem.” He took a drink of his beer.

“What? Are we going to be late for our very important destination? We don’t have anywhere to be, Johnny.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask. How long until we stop driving around in the desert and get a change of scenery? I’d love to head northeast.”

She leaned on the car and took a sip of her own drink. “I dunno. I was thinking about heading into the Appalachia area. Northeast is… well, the northeast is fucked. Our best bets are the Great Plains and the Appalachia.”

“Hey- is snow still a thing? Didn’t get to see much back in my day but… dunno. Not sure if it’s still… happening.”

“Been fifty more years of climate change. Nah. Hasn’t snowed anywhere in America in twenty, thirty years.”

“Damn. Didn’t figure so. Thought it’d be a nice change from this damned heat.”

They fell into silence, though it wasn’t silent for long. Johnny kept his promise of performance and started drumming on the car with his organic hand, metal one tapping the beer to the same beat. V busied herself looking for a spare hose. They definitely had one, Mitch wasn’t going to let them leave without one, it was just a matter of where. 

“You know,” she heard Johnny say from his perch. “Just remembered the name of your old Thorton back with the Bakkers.”

“Striker!” V laughed at the same time he said it. “Fuckin Striker. Now  _ that _ was a beast. Why you thinking bout her?”

“Just thinking maybe we should give this baby a name. Something better than Striker.”

“Hey! Nothing is wrong with the name Striker. Especially for an 18-year-old to give her car. Coulda been much worse.” Ah- _ ha _ ! She dug the spare hose out of the back and held it up triumphantly, earning a whoop from Johnny.

“Coulda named it after that boy band you were fuckin obsessed with.”

“ I told you I didn’t want to hear any more about that. I was a kid, Johnny. Now, what’s got you thinking about naming this car? I didn’t even know you named cars.” She made her way back around to the hood. 

The radiator was cool enough that if she touched it she would have a second pull her hand away before it burned her too bad. She decided to get to work, knowing that both she and Johnny wanted to get back in that air conditioning as soon as possible.

“I don’t. My Porsche doesn’t got a name. Dunno, just feels right for this. Feels like the place we practically call our home should have some term of endearment, not just ‘the Thorton’ or whatever we’ve been calling it.”

“And what were you thinkin’? Samurai?” The conversation wasn’t distracting, she could repair this in her sleep if need be. 

“No!” V peeked over the hood of the car, seeing Johnny’s blush give him away. “Maybe, but when you say it sounds stupid. I guess somethin more personal. I don’t know, just think on it.”

She didn’t need to think on it. “Pistis Sophia.”

Johnny’s bouncing stalled and she peaked back over the hood to check on him. He was looking down at her, just smiling.

“Hm. The twelve aeons.”

“No, you gonk. The motel.” Had he gone completely whacked? “Y’know, the one your dog tags were in?”

“Yeah, no shit V! I know you were talking about the goddamn motel. The place’s named after a book, Pistis Sophia. It’s some Gnostic bullshit where Jesus takes eleven years to go through twelve levels of ascending. Talks to his chooms- the disciples- and meets this old lady or somethin’. ‘S one of the Gnostics’ main texts. Horseshit, o’course.”

“How the fuck do you know  _ that _ , and how the hell did not seem interesting the first time we talked about the Sophia?”

“Hey, I read. But yea, let’s call her Sophia. Fitting.”

“Even with all the agnostic religious shit behind it?”

“Gnostic.”

“S what I said.”

V turned her attention back to the car after Johnny scoffed. She legitimately thought she said the word right, but she knew nothing about religion. What she didn’t know was cars. And this one was about ready to get going again. She did one final sweep making sure everything was tight and secure and slammed the hood of the newly named Sophia. 

“Ready to get kickin’?”

“Shit, that was less than an hour.“ he hopped off the top of the car and landed on the dry ground with a puff of dust. “Let’s move. I’m still good to drive if you wanna sleep.”

“I’ll take you up on that. Don’t think I’ll sleep, but don’t really feel like drivin’ after just fixin’ her up.”

“So where too? Just straight on till morning?” He opened the driver’s side and climbed back in. 

“It’s the middle of the day.” V moved back around to the passenger side, making sure to grab her now very warm beer off the roof of the car.

“Christ’s  _ balls _ you have got to learn some references.”

“Sorry, I’m not an old man!” Most of the things he said went over her head, but he seemed to know every reference she made. “Do we even know where we are?”

“I don’t.” Sophia purred to life and didn’t start smoking, so Johnny started moving. “Got no sense of direction out here in this damned desert.”

“Then first destination is the next pit stop we come across. Motel, CHOO2 station, whatever. We’ll orient ourselves and go from there.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

It wasn’t, really, but that was the thing. V relaxed into her seat and tried to remember the last time before they started this road trip she had ever  _ relaxed _ . The answer was rarely. They didn’t have a plan because at that moment they didn’t need one.

—

V had fallen asleep again. It was a few hours later, he’d just spent most of the drive trying to explain a couple of old movies he loved, and technically his shift was supposed to be over. Counting the time before the car had broken down he’d been driving for almost fifteen hours. He’d wake her up when he found that pitstop she was talking about.

Or he’d wake her up right now as nomads completely flanked them.

“V.” He shook her shoulder. “V, we got company.”

“What?” She seemed to process his words and sat bolt upright. “What kinda company?”

“Nomads. Can’t get a good look at any sign on ‘em, you might know better than me. They’re trapping us in though. What are we doing?”

His hand was on the Malorian, which was resting between the seats, but he was waiting for V’s orders. She took a moment to assess and then waved for him to back off, hold, not attack.

“It’s Snake Nation. Maybe…”

“Think you know someone?” He was starting to have to slow down, the car that had pulled in front of them was breaking and forcing Sophia to a stop. 

“Might. It’s worth a shot.”

“Feels like it’s the only shot we’re gonna get. Dunno why they’re picking on an unaffiliated civilian vehicle…” They came to a complete stop.

“Let me do the talking.”

“Was plannin’ on it. Want me out there or in here with my foot on the gas?”

“They’re gonna make your turn the car off. Bring your iron but don’t make it obvious-“

There was a knock on the driver’s side window. “Gonna have to ask you to step out of the vehicle.”

“Guy’s talking like a fuckin cop.” He put it in park but left the engine running. Just in case.

“Shush. Leave the gun. We’ll be fine.” V opened her door and Johnny followed suit. “We’re unarmed. We have weapons in the car but we don’t plan on using them.”

“That’s all fine and good.” The guy who had tapped on the window answered, looking Johnny up and down. “We are very armed, but I’ll admit I’m hopin’ we don’t have to use ours on y’all’s pretty faces. Gonna need you to explain just what you’re doin out here.”

“Just passin-“

“I’m not lookin at you, am I?” 

No, he was looking at Johnny. “We’re on a road trip. Just civilians.”

“Uh-huh. And where is this little road trip takin you and your girl?”

“Right now we’re a little turned around. Lookin’ for the closest CHOO2 station, hopin’ to re-orient ourselves and head in the right direction.”

“You crossed into Snake territory a while back, had nothin’ to warn you?”

“Didn’t figure it’d be a problem, since we are a single, unaffiliated vehicle. But please, if there is a problem-” V was much better at talking than Johnny was, and he was grateful she kept trying to take the wheel.

‘There is a problem, missy. That that  _ you _ keep talkin’ while  _ I’m _ tryin’a have a nice conversation with my new choom here.” If this asshole cut her off one more time… the Malorian wasn’t that far out of reach…

“Cool it, Winder.” A new voice, another guy, stepped out of the same car. “Don’t need to be pickin’ any fights right now. We’re sorry to interrupt y’alls road trip, we just need to make sure you are an unaffiliated vehicle who isn’t tryin’a smuggle anything in these parts without our express permission.”

“Nothin’ in our ride has any sort of- Charly?!”

The taller, younger guy who had cut Winder off a second ago whipped around to face V, and Johnny immediately knew why he looked so goddamn familiar. Charly, V’s older brother. Charly, the brother V had gotten into the biggest fight with when she left. Charly, who seemed very happy to see her.

“Venus? Well, shit! What the fuck are you doin’ out here?” His threatening demeanor dropped and a big smile stretched across his face. “C’mere!”

V and her brother met halfway for one of the most bone crushing hugs Johnny had ever witnessed. Charly was a big dude, practically bursting with muscle, and Johnny knew from his time spent scrollin’ V’s memories that his hugs were phenomenal. They couldn’t have gotten luckier with which member of V’s family they ran into. Johnny felt himself relax just a little, still aware he was under the watchful eye of Winder and the rest of the surrounding nomads.

‘Well shit, Veevee! Gonna tell me the fuck you’re doing?”

“We just did! Not smugglin’ or nothin’, Char. Just on a trip.”

“Thought you were headed to NC! And whose your new choom?”

“I was! I did. That’s where I’ve been, just needed to get back on the road. Charly, this is Johnny. Johnny…”

“V talks ‘bout you pretty often.” That wasn’t true, but it was easier than saying Johnny had seen her memories. 

“Does she now? Oh, mama is gonna love this…”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Ugh, this fuckin’ guy. “You know these chooms?”

“Just the one. This is Venus, my little sister. Split when we joined up.”

“Ah, so she’s a traitor to your family.  _ Our _ family.”

“Winder,” Charly said, turning back towards him. “We’ll be letting them go. They’ve got nothin’ on ‘em.” He cut Winder off again before the other man could even say anything. “You’re right. Traitor to the family, can’t exactly bring them back to camp. But she’s my sister, and I’m in charge of this patrol. Everyone pack up and get ready to move.”

“Char, we can’t catch up at all?”

“Got responsibilities. I’m flickin’ you my detes. Call me one of these days, yea? Winder’s got a point. It’s  _ so _ good to see you.” He glanced back at Johnny. “You keep an eye on her, now. This one can be a bit of a wild hair.”

“Ohoh, am I now? Think you should be more worried about  _ him _ -”

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anythin’ stupid, don’t worry.”

V watched her brother leave. Johnny could read a range of emotions on her face. She was happy to see her brother again, sad to see him go so soon.

“That couldn’t have gone much better.”

“Damn right about that.” V sighed. “That was incredibly lucky.”

“That Winder guy was a dickhole.”

“Want me to drive?”

“ _ Please _ . You ever think about goin’ back?”

“Nah. Snake Nation isn’t… isn’t the Bakkers. Considered runnin’ with the Aldecaldos, you know that, but I’ve got more important things right now. Besides, this isn’t that far off from nomad living. No destination, open road…”

Johnny let himself slump into the seat, downright exhausted. “To a pitstop?”

“Yeah, finally. “ V clicked on the radio. “I was thinkin about it when I was falling asleep. Ker… a while ago, before we got you back, Kerry offered to let me stay at one of his pads.”

“He’s got more?”

“Yeah, he’s rich. Anyway, he said hes got one he never uses in North Carolina... I could call him, see if that offer’s still on the table.”

“Probably have to talk to Rouge about getting new papers. “

“Mh. We’ve been messaging ‘bout it. I’m all set, just you that needs papers.”

“And North Carolina, that’s in…?”

“The Appalachia area. Probably the only place east or midwest that’s considered prospering. He said the house as isolated as you can get out there, up in the mountains.”

“That does sound nice. Call him up, then we can at least have a plan. Think I’m gonna catch a wink or two. Wake me up when we stop, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She turned the radio up, knowing by now that the noise kept her awake and put Johnny to sleep. “I’ll wake ya.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading (:


End file.
